


Bad Nights

by EddColaBoy (UniqueMemoria)



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety, Brainwashing, Crying, Depression, Edd cries A LOT, Emotional Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Kidnapping, M/M, PTSD, Panic Attacks, some dubcon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-08-23 19:35:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8340055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniqueMemoria/pseuds/EddColaBoy
Summary: Edd and Tord grow close in the time they know each other, very very close. But, Tord makes some bad decisions, and it ends with everything being awful for everyone involved. Especially for Edd.





	1. An Unexpectedly Bad Night

A loud scream.

 

It was far too early for Edd to be waking up, but he couldn’t help it. He was sitting up in his bed, body drenched in a cold sweat and tears rolling continuously down his cheeks. He was shaking, trembling, struggling to keep himself together. Another night… Another awful, terrible, bad night.  
  
He found himself stuck in an awful panic attack, the memories from the event months and months ago replaying in his head thanks to the nightmare he had just experienced. Tord. Tord Tord Tord. He was all he could think about. And he _hated_ it.  
  
It was the same nightmare he’d been having, about the events with Tord, but always usually ended with a different outcome. Tom actually dies. Maybe sometimes both Tom _and_ Matt die. It always varied. Something was always different. But, even so, no matter what he woke up anxious, and _afraid_ .  
  
Edd pressed his hands against his face, curling up into the tightest ball he could manage, sniffling and sucking in breaths as he struggled to steady his breathing. It was no use though, he couldn’t stop thinking about the dream he had. It somehow ended up being the worse of them all.  
  
Everything played out like usual, Edd and Matt came home from the store to see a giant, red robot in their front yard. The usual conversation played out like normal.  
  
I thought we were friends, blah blah.. Usual stuff. But then it got worse. Why it felt worse, he wasn’t sure. But it hurt.  
  
_Tord left his robot.  
  
_ Edd had watched, Tord exiting his robot and stepped up to him with ease. Edd couldn’t move. He shivered when Tord had placed a hand on his cheek, muttering something like ‘I’m sorry’ to him. He was crying. Edd’s words seemed to had made their way to him, snapping him out of whatever phase he was in. He brought Tord back, _real_ Tord. Tord went in for a kiss, like they used to…. But then he woke up. He woke up with a fucking scream .  
  
Now he couldn’t stop crying. He couldn’t stop shaking. He couldn’t stop thinking about god damn Tord. He was only pulled out of his thoughts slightly when he heard his door be bust open, blinking and looking up to where light was pouring into his room with puffy, red eyes. “T-Tom…” Edd sniffled, figuring Tom had woken to Edd’s scream, and rushed over in worry.  
  
Tom had used the key Edd gave him for emergencies when Edd didn’t answer to the multiple sets of knocks he had given the front door. He quickly made his way into Edd’s bedroom, shoving the door open quickly in worry. He sighed a bit in relief when it was clear it was just another nightmare. He didn’t say anything at first, and only relaxed his muscles as he made his way over to him, scooting onto his bed and offering him a hug. “C’mere, Edd..”  
  
Edd quickly obliged, breaking into sobs again and practically shoving himself against Tom, wrapping his arms tightly around him and letting out strings of whimpers and sharp breaths.  
  
Wrapping his arms back around the shaking man, Tom let out soft hushing sounds, rubbing his back gently. “Shhh.. sh sh… it was just a nightmare, Edd. It’s over now… Was it the same one? But different again?“ He received a nod from Edd, who was still too busy sobbing into the eyeless man’s clothing.  
  
The comforts and sobbing kept on for a good half an hour before Edd was finally containing himself again. Tom pulled back a little, leaning his head down to look at Edd’s face in the dimly lit room. “You okay?”  
  
“No.. But I’m f-feeling better…” Edd responded shakily, raising a hand to rub at his face and eyes. “Thanks, Tom.”  
  
Tom gave him a small smile, patting his shoulder a bit. “It’s nothing. That scream you let out was-- intense. I was sure you were being murdered or some shit this time around. Do-- Do you wanna talk about the dream or should it wait?”  
  
Edd hesitated, sniffling a little again, taking a few deep breath to steady his breathing. He spoke up after opening and closing his mouth a few times struggling to find his words, “I… I think I’ll pass. Thank you, though.” Edd let out a slight groan, wiping the last of his tears away and meeting Tom’s.. eyes. “Sorry for waking you……again.”  
  
Tom raised a hand a little to press a finger to Edd’s lips and shook his head. “Nope, it’s fine. I’d rather wake up to come comfort you than to let you suffer on your own. Don’t feel bad.” Tom yawned a little right after stating so, groaning. “Speeaaking of-- Are you okay now? Do you want me to stay here with you?”  
  
Edd usually heard that question after he finished crying in these situations, and he usually just gave Tom permission to head back to his own apartment. But, this time he felt he just couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to be alone right now. “Would you mind, uh, staying, actually?”  
  
Tom didn’t need to hear anymore, and gave a nod, motioning for Edd to lay back down and pushed himself up. “Yeah, Anything for you, Edd.” He said honestly, leaving the room for a short moment to turn off the light he turned on when he entered the apartment, and relocked the front door. Only then did he make his way back to the bed, and climbed back onto the soft surface, snuggling himself under the covers and wrapping arms gently around Edd. “It’s all okay now, okay? You gotta push those thoughts out of your head somehow, Edd.”  
  
“I know…..Thanks, Tom.” Edd let out a sigh, feeling much more relaxed now in Tom’s arms. His comforts and his company helped him feel secure and safe from harm, letting him easily begin to doze off the sleep once more. A peaceful sleep for once.

-    -    -

A few more months pass by, and thankfully Edd was lucky enough to not have any nightmares _that_ bad again. He still got them like usual, but they were pretty general and the usual shit. He was doing better though! He had much less panic attacks now and managed to push Tord out of his mind a lot of the time.  
  
It was kinda hard to push the thought of someone you used to love out of your mind, though. Used to…? Edd wasn’t sure actually. If he hated him now, he wouldn’t still be clinging to the idea of him, right?  
  
It was supposed to be movie night tonight with Tom and Matt, but they both ended up busy with their own stuff. Matt had a date, and Tom seemed a bit more depressed than usual that night. He tended to like being on his own and just drink in his apartment on nights like that, even with how much as Edd tries to tell him not to.  
  
So, instead of moping around like he would usually, Edd decides to simply enjoy the movie night on his own. He got it all set up too, making some popcorn, getting out copious amount of cola, and grabbing a fluffy blanket to use during the film. He plopped himself down after putting the movie into the DVD player, the badly made horror film starting up.  
  
Edd enjoyed a majority of it, laughing at the bad graphics and cliche horror scenes, getting through most of the movie, getting near the end of it when it was interrupted by a set of knocks at the door. Edd glanced over to the door in confusion and picked up the TV remote, pausing the movie.  
  
He couldn’t think of who it could be at first, before realizing it was likely Matt or Tom. They could’ve easily found time to come over by now. He let out a sigh, pushing himself up and stretching a little. He stepped over to the door and unlocked it, opening it up. He felt his body turn to ice as soon as he saw just who was on the other side of the door, though. It wasn’t Tom, or Matt.  
  
It was Tord.  
  
Edd quickly grew pale, his stomach jumping into his throat as he gripped onto the doorknob, staying silent.  
  
“Edd?” That voice spoke up, sending a shiver down Edd’s spine at the sound of it. “Would it be alright if I came in? I-- I want to talk.” Tord continued, voice gentle, likely due to noticing Edd’s state after seeing him.  
  
Edd’s mind was racing with thoughts, so much so that his judgement was a little clouded, and he only nodded, stepping back to let him inside. It wasn’t until he shut the door that he snapped back to reality again, blinking a few times as he watched Tord sit himself down on his couch. “W-- Wait a minute… Hold on.”  
  
Tord was observing the small apartment from where he had sat down when he heard Edd speak up, turning his attention to him instead and raising a brow. “What?”  
  
Why was he here. Wasn’t he dead? He had been so sure he had died… or maybe he just forced himself to assume he did. But, even so, why was he here. Why did he come back.  
  
Already starting to tremble a little, tears burned at the corners of Edd’s eyes, which narrowed with clear anger. “What the _hell?_ Why are you here, acting like nothing fucking happened? You _ruined_ us. You ruined _Me_!” Edd’s voice slowly raised in volume as he got more worked up, clenching his fists and stepping a bit closer to him. “You used me and m--my friends! You punched Matt in the f-face! You tried to _kill_ Tom!!! Why would you think coming here would be a good f-fucking idea!? Do you think I’m gonna just f-f-forgive you?! I-- I---” Edd stammered, voice shaking and suddenly getting more quiet compared the screaming he had just done.  
  
Tord didn’t speak, only watching the man with a mix of concern and guilt. He blinked when Edd began to slow down, giving signs of breaking down further. He pushed himself up and tried to make his way to Edd, moving to grab his shoulders and calm him, like he used to.  
  
Edd wasn’t having that. He quickly glared at him again, swinging his hands to hit at him, stopping him from getting closer. “Get away from me!” Edd stumbled back a little, breathing heavily as he began to sob and grow even more angry. “D--Don’t fucking touch me!!”  
  
“Edd--” Tord widened his eyes, ducking just before Ringo’s food dish hit him in the head, barely missing him. “Edd! Calm down--!” Tord dodged again, the water bowl coming next.  
  
Edd grabbed at anything he could find near him, throwing it in Tord’s direction, only stopped when he ran out of items, letting out heavy breaths and struggling to keep himself together even slightly. He tried to step over to Tord, but broke down further before he got close enough to touch him at all, collapsing onto the ground so he was sitting, hunched over. He covered his face with his hands, sobbing into them harder than he likely ever had.  
  
Tord stared down at him with worry, hesitating and only watching him for a moment. He stepped closer to him and knelt down. He hesitated again. But, he slowly wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close and hushing him a little. He rested his head on top of Edd’s rubbing his back slowly. “Calm down... Take deep breaths…”  
  
Edd was shuddering, breaths uneven and sharp. He didn’t try to push him away, and only found himself accepting the comforts, clinging onto him tightly, his sobs muffled against the red cloth he pushed his face against.  
  
They stayed like that for a minute or so, but were quickly interrupted. Edd’s front door slammed open, making Edd flinch and let out a sharp whimper.  
  
Tord let out a gasp.  
  
The room was quiet for a moment before Edd heard it. He quickly knew who it was. He already assumed who it was when the door opened, and he clung tighter onto Tord knowing so.  
  
“WHAT THE _FUCK?_ GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!” Tom’s enraged voice sounded out through the apartment, and stomping footsteps were heard right after. Edd didn’t even have time to know what was happening before he felt Tord be ripped away from him, and he _screamed_. He was scared. He didn’t like this. He wanted it all to stop. Maybe this was just another bad nightmare?  
  
It wasn’t.  
  
Edd stared with wide eyes, frozen in place as Tom shoved Tord to the ground, pinning him to the floor and not wasting a second to begin smashing his fist repeatedly against Tord’s face. Anger fueled ever single punch, trying to do as much damage as possible. Tom was already drunk off his ass, and had a bad night. This only added to it. And the fact Tord came back probably in hopes of taking Edd back again made Tom _livid_ with anger.  
  
Who did he think he was!? Tord could barely fight back, having been pinned to the ground before he knew what was going on, feeling repeated sparks of pain through his face. Tord tried his best to push or kick the angered man off of him, but it was no use.  
  
“TOM!” Edd’s voice finally cried out, coming out of his short moment of shock. He moved quickly over to the two, grabbing at Tom and trying to pull him away. It was like pulling on a rock… Tom wasn’t moving. He kept punching, and punching, and Edd wasn’t sure what to do. He was going to kill Tord! “ _TOM!! STOP IT!”_  
  
Edd yanked at Tom’s body with all his weight, barely moving him, but just enough to seem to snap Tom out of his angry trance. Edd was shaking, sucking in hard breaths every time he breathed. He pulled at Tom again, who finally stopped punching.  
  
Tom was staring down at the man below him, who was now easily unconscious after the constant abuse. There was blood. A lot of blood. Tom gulped hard, still angry but realizing just the problem with what he had done. Edd had watched. Edd had screamed at him to stop. And he hadn’t. “G-God… God I’m sorry, Edd I’m-- fuck.”  
  
Edd was staring at Tord now. He stared with concern, worry, and many other emotions Tom couldn’t quite read on his face. “H-He…. He came back.”  
  
Tom let out a heavy sigh, turning and wrapped his arms around Edd, his body still shaking a little with anger. “I know he did.. Sh shh.. I’m sorry, Edd.”  
  
“I almost let him manipulate me a-again.”  
  
“Edd..”  
  
“W-What if I went away with him or s-s-something I--”  
  
“Edd.”  
  
“I--”  
  
“ _Edd._ ” Tom pulled back, holding onto Edd’s shoulders now, forcing him to look at his face. “Listen to me. You don’t have to hate him. Emotions aren’t black and white, we’ve been through this. But you can’t let him back into your life.” Tom sighed, not hearing any response from Edd, who simply tried to look at Tord again.  
  
Tom slowly pushed himself up “I’m going to take him to the hospital... But _you_.” Tom pointed at Edd. “You are staying here.”  
  
“W-What, wait-- but I-”  
  
“Nope. You are not coming. You’ve experienced more Tord than you needed to ever experience today. I’m gonna have you stay in Matt’s apartment until I am back, okay?” Tom made it clear he wasn’t going to take any arguments, and moved over to Tord’s body, lifting him up and holding him in his arms, motioning for Edd to follow. “Come on.”  
  
Edd wanted nothing more than to just go with them, make sure Tord was okay. But he knew it was no use trying to argue with Tom, so he only complied. He gulped, still shaken up but at least able to walk, following after them towards Matt’s apartment.  
  
“I don’t want Matt to have to wake up to all this right now, so I’m gonna go ahead and get going with Tord. Just knock, he’ll wake up. You gonna be okay?”  
  
Edd was fiddling his hands together a little, nodding. “Yeah.”  
  
“Okay. Be safe, Edd.” With that, Tom finally turned to leave.

Edd watched him go, holding back every urge telling him to follow. He waited until he could no longer see the two, and turned back to the door in front of him, knocking on it.

 

What a bad night, what the hell.


	2. An Expectantly Bad Night

The door opened a minute later, a very sleepy looking Matt standing in the doorway. “Edd? What’s up?” Matt yawned, rubbing at one of his eyes, obvious he had just woken up to the sound of the knocks on the door.  
  
“Is it alright if I stay with you for tonight? Tom is out and I don’t wanna be alone right now.” Edd easily told the slight lie, not meaning all of what he said.  
  
Matt took a second to comprehend his words, still mostly asleep, but gave a nod. “Oh, uh yeah, that’s fine with me. Come on in.” He took a step back, allowing Edd to come inside and shut the door behind him. “You don’t look very good uh, you feel okay, Edd?”  
  
Edd was still fiddling with his hands as he stepped inside, moving to the couch and sitting himself down. “What? Oh- uhm.. I’m fine.” Edd stumbled a little with his words, not sounding very convincing. Thankfully for Edd, Matt seemed too tired to notice.  
  
Matt stared at Edd for a few seconds, though it didn’t seem like he was really focusing too much, before he finally blinked and spoke up again. “Okay then… uh, I’m gonna head back to bed but, make yourself comfortable okay? If you wanna come sleep with me, don’t be afraid to come into bed.”  
  
Edd gave him a nod, giving him a small forced smile. “Alright, thanks.” he kept the smile on his face as he watched Matt move back to his bedroom. He let it drop right after, biting at his lip and glancing down at his hands as he fumbled them together some more.  
  
He considered the offer Matt gave him to come sleep with him, but pushed it out of his mind not too long after. He was tired, but he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep at all tonight. Plus, if he did, he definitely would have nightmares. He didn’t want Matt to have to worry.  
  
Edd gulped, tapping his foot absentmindedly on the ground, finding it hard to just keep still. He felt scared, for a number of different reasons. He was scared for Tord’s wellbeing, funnily enough. He was scared of Tom a little right then. And, he was scared of _Tord._ How did he find them? Did he stalk them ever since the whole incident? And if so…. Why?  
  
The jumbled thoughts just continued racing through Edd’s head, and he felt those tears burn at his eyes again. Damn it. He should’ve followed them. He shouldn’t have left Tom alone with Tord. What if he didn’t take him to the hospital? What if he actually just went to dump him in an alleyway or something???  
  
Edd took a deep breath, shaking his head. No, no no Tom wasn’t that heartless. Even if he did hate the man, enough to want to kill him, he wouldn’t do that. That would be lying to him. Tom was too honest to him for that.  
  
Letting out a heavy sigh, Edd rubbed his hands over his face and flopped onto his side on the soft surface beneath him. He pulled his hands down his face once more, allowing himself to see again. He glanced over the wall of paintings and pictures Matt had on his walls. Of course, most of them were his face, but there were a small few that weren’t, and he found his eyes landing on one of them. He hadn’t even ever noticed he had it.  
  
It was a picture of all of them. _Including Tord._ Why would Matt still have that up? They all looked so happy… including himself. He looked so happy. He gulped hard, biting at his lip as tears welled up in his eyes again, body shaking slightly as emotions flowed over his entire body, causing him to slowly break down into quiet sobs. He hugged onto himself, curling up tightly into the smallest ball he could manage, much like he did when he got nightmares, and just cried. There really wasn’t much he could do other than that, anyway.  
  
He just wanted to fix everything. He wanted to have the sudden ability to go back in time and change how everything worked out. Maybe he could’ve denied Tord’s request to move back in, maybe he could’ve ignored Tord’s feelings, maybe he could of asked Tom out instead. All thoughts of what he _could_ of done swam through his brain, and it only fueled his break down. Edd clutched tightly onto the fabric of his hoodie, entire body shaking uncontrollably with his sobs.  
  
This continued for far too long, only stopping when Edd was finally able to fall asleep, crying himself to sleep.

 

-    -    -

 

The next morning Edd woke up pretty late in the day, it noticable by the fact the sun seemed to be going down already, the exhaustion from the night before must have been getting to him. He didn’t get to fall asleep til probably 4am last night. Ugh… Edd pushed himself up and rubbed at his eyes, groaning a little. For a moment, he forgot exactly what happened last night, and was confused why he was in Matt’s apartment, of all places.  
  
But then he remembered. He shivered a little, glancing around the room and noticing Matt wasn’t there yet. It was already far into the day, he might of left to do something by now. Feeling it might be a bit rude for him to stay in the apartment by himself, he stood up and rubbed a hand through his messy hair, exiting the apartment. He found himself making a beeline towards Tom’s apartment, knocking on the door.  
  
Thankfully, the door opened within a few seconds of waiting, a very tired looking Tom showing on the other side of it. “Morning, Edd.”  
  
“Good morning, Tom, uh-- can I come in? Were you sleeping?”  
  
Tom shook his head, stepping back to let Edd enter. “I wasn’t sleeping. In fact I don’t think I really got to sleep at all last night." He waited for Edd to step inside before he closed the door, turning the lock again. “Did you get any sleep?”  
  
Edd sat himself down on the couch, letting out a sigh. “Yeah, I don’t feel at all awake, though. I still feel like I could sleep for another 5 years.” He glanced back at Tom, trying to give a small smile, though it was forced. “I guess we both feel dead, huh?”  
  
Tom let out a soft chuckle, stepping over and plopping himself down next to him. “Yeah, I guess so.”  
  
The room fell silent for a long while, the two simply sitting quietly. The only sound coming from the TV that was on, set to the local news channel. Usually Tom would make sure Edd couldn’t see the news, especially now, but he was far too out of it and exhausted to think clearly.  
  
Finally, Edd spoke up, bringing up the topic Tom had been hoping he wouldn’t. “Is.. Tord?”  
  
“He’s fine.”  
  
Edd frowned, not liking the blunt answer, having been hoping to hear more than that. He figured Tom didn’t want to talk about Tord more than he had to though, so dropped it, slumping back in his seat a little.  
  
They fell into another spill of silence, Edd’s attention slowly moving to the TV instead. It’d been forever since he watched anything that wasn’t movies or some TV shows here and there. Though, after not even a minute of watching the screen he almost felt as if his heart stopped, skin growing pale at sight of the image on the screen.  
  
The rolling text at the bottom of the screen said in clear, bold letters: RED LEADER ARRESTED TONIGHT.  
  
And worst of all, the picture. It was a picture of Tord. He couldn’t even focus on the words, only hearing bits of it. He’d heard about the Red Leader before, it was kinda hard not to. It was on the internet, as well as the news. So, even with not watching the news, he saw people share articles and such about this man. But, for some reason, it never clicked. It never clicked that it could be Tord. Maybe he just didn’t want to believe it.  
  
Tom finally came to notice what was on screen, panicking and quickly grabbing the remote and shutting it off. He turned to Edd, noticing his state. “Edd? Edd, come on buddy, it’s okay.” Tom frowned, placing a hand on Edd’s arm, leaning a little to try and get him to look at him. Edd only seemed to stare blankly ahead though, and was starting to shake. “Edd, come on come on shh… I know this might be scary for you, but I need you to stay calm for me.”  
  
Edd was stuck in his shock for a couple more moments before Tom’s soft words seemed to finally get to him, tears filling his eyes and his gaze finally moving to focus on Tom instead. He took in the concerned expression on Tom’s face. He sniffled, his trembles worsening before he moved and pressed himself against Tom, hugging onto him tightly.  
  
Tom wrapped his arms back around Edd, rubbing his back gently. “Shh… It’s alright. Just let it out.” Tom spoke gently, holding him close and almost protectively. He mentally cursed at himself for not paying attention, which ended with him allowing Edd to see the one piece of news he didn’t want him to see. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Trembling in Tom’s arms, Edd sobbed into Tom’s shirt, unable to make himself stop. So, he just allowed himself to follow Tom’s comforts, letting himself let it out.  
  
They stayed like that for a long time.  
  
A long time.  
  
Edd finally began to calm down, only hiccuping a little and sniffling every few moments. He pulled himself back so his face wasn’t buried into Tom’s chest. He was quiet for a moment before speaking up, voice quiet. “Did you know?”  
  
Tom tensed a little, frowning and glancing off to a random wall in the room, still keeping his arms around Edd. “W-What do you mean?”  
  
“Did you _know_?” Edd repeated, staring at the wet spot in Tom’s shirt, sniffling again. “Did you know about that.”  
  
Tom was silent for a moment, trying to think of how to word his answer, but finally sighed, simply nodding. “Yes.”  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me.”  
  
“I-- I didn’t want you to have to worry.”  
  
The atmosphere grew tense around the two, and Tom didn’t like it. He knew it wasn’t right for him to keep information about Tord away from Edd, but at the time he figured it was the best decision. “I’m sorry, Edd.”  
  
Edd frowned, narrowing his eyes a little and shaking his head. “I-- I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me. How long have you known??”  
  
Tom didn’t answer this time, going quiet.  
  
“ _Tom._ ”  
  
He flinched, gulping a little and barely managing out his response. “Since-- the robot.”  
  
Edd’s expression turned, going from slight anger to full on hurt. Edd felt tears fill his eyes again and he narrowed his eyes after a moment. He pushed himself up and forced himself out of Tom’s arms, heading for the door. “I’m going back to my apartment.”  
  
“Edd!” Tom grabbed onto Edd’s sleeve, trying to stop him. “I really didn’t want to upset you, I thought not telling you might help you just forget about him. It might help you finally heal!”  
  
Edd stopped when Tom had grabbed him, staring at the ground and clenching his fists a little, sniffling as tears made their way down his cheeks. “It sure worked, huh?” Edd gave the simply reply, tugging his sleeve away from Tom’s grasp and finally exiting the apartment. He bit at his lip as he stomped his way back to his apartment. As soon as he got inside and shut the door behind him though, he sniffed hard, blinking at his tears. He let out a choked sob, slowly sliding down the door to sit on the floor, hunching over and pressing his hands against his face, sobbing into them. Who the hell was he supposed to trust. Tord was a prick, Tom kept things from him, and Matt didn’t really know what was going on. He felt alone. He felt alone. He felt alone.  
  
Edd sat like that for a while, crying to himself until he finally could calm down. Well, calm down enough to at least focus on his surroundings again. He glanced up and around the dim room. He found his eyes moving to the small blood stain on his carpet, wincing and shivering a little. Tord’s blood. Ugh.  
  
Edd pushed himself up slowly, almost falling again as his legs wobbled. He needed some sleep. Yeah, maybe some sleep would help. Was there still any possibility of this all being a really long, bad nightmare? It had to be, right?  
  
Letting out a shaky sigh, Edd wiped at his face, wobbling his way to his bedroom, and flopping onto the soft surface. He still felt like crying. He just wanted to cry forever, really. But he was far too tired now to keep going. He didn’t even bother covering himself with his blankets, only quickly falling asleep.

 

Another awful night.


	3. An Alright Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place back before Tord left originally.

“Tom? You gonna watch the movie with us tonight?” Edd spoke up as he knocked on Tom’s bedroom door. He had locked himself in there for most of the night, and Edd was hoping to get him to socialize at least a little that night.  
  
Edd stepped back a little when the door opened, and he gave Tom a small smile. “You’ve been in here almost all day. Why don’t you come out for a while?”   
  
Tom shook his head, taking a drink of the vodka bottle in his hand. “No thanks. I was probably gonna pass out soon, so…”  
  
Frowning, Edd sighed, but gave a reluctant nod. “Okay, just be careful with that.” He motioned to the vodka bottle in Tom’s hand, then to him. “You look awful, so please get some rest.”   
  
“Got it.” Tom glanced down at the bottle, thinking on Edd’s words for a second before simply taking another swig of it. “Goodnight, Edd.”  
  
“Night.” Edd let Tom shut the door, and he found himself letting out another sigh.  
  
“Edd?”  
  
Tord’s voice was heard moments after, and Edd glanced up, blinking a little. “Ah! I’m coming, sorry!” Edd finally made his way back towards Tord’s voice, entering the living room to see Tord still waiting for him on the couch.    
  
“Any luck?” Tord questioned, giving Edd a questioning look. He saw Edd shake his head, and he had to hold himself back from seeming relieved. “Ah, that’s a shame.” Tord shrugged, pushing himself up and grabbing Edd’s hand, giving him a smile. “Are you okay with us watching it in my room, then? It’s more comfy if we get to sit on a bed. I have a TV in there.”   
  
Edd was a little gloomy about Tom rejecting the offer to hang out, simply so he can drink alone in his room, but his mind was pulled elsewhere when Tord took his hand and began to speak to him. “Oh, uh yeah, that’s fine with me.” Edd gave him a small smile, trying to push the thought of Tom out of his head for now. He got to spend some alone time with Tord, and that was always nice.  
  
Tord gripped onto Edd’s hand a little, pulling him along towards the bedroom, the dvd for the movie they planned to watch already in hand. He had assumed Tom would say no to hanging with the two of them. He almost never said yes when Matt was gone. He didn’t like being alone with the two of them, for obvious reasons. Edd was the only one other than Matt who didn’t understand. He didn’t know Tom had any idea about him and Tord, well, dating.  
  
Edd and Tord had made an agreement to keep their relationship secret, mostly to Edd’s request. Edd felt there was no use telling Matt or Tom just yet. He had a small feeling there was no need, plus, he had the smallest suspicion it might bring conflict, somehow.  
  
Edd sat himself on Tord’s bed after releasing his hand to let him get the movie set up on the TV. Edd took the time to get himself comfortable, snuggling himself under Tord’s covers and watching the screen in front of the bed light up once it was turned on. “What movie was this again?”   
  
“Return of the Insane Zombie Pirates from Hell 3!” Tord replied eagerly, grinning and glancing over his shoulder at him as he waited for the DVD to load. “It’s one of my favorites.”   
  
Edd let out a small chuckle, finding the name of the movie amusing, but deciding to roll with it. Tord seemed excited for him to watch it, so he saw no reason not to. He wasn’t very picky with movies to begin with anyway.  
  
Tord grabbed the remote once the DVD started playing, playing the numerous trailers that came before you got to the menu screen. He stepped over and plopped himself onto the bed next to Edd, the grin still on his face. “I promise you it’s good! It has it’s own little cheesy charm to it.”   
  
“And what if it sucks? Do I get anything to make up for over an hour of my life being wasted?” Edd teased, raising a brow at him.    
  
Tord blinked, his grin changing a little, and Edd found himself blushing second later, Tord wrapping an arm around him and brought his face closer to his with a nod. ”Why yes, actually. I’ll do whatever you want tonight, if you truly don’t enjoy it.”    
  
Edd stared at him for a moment, before snorting out a small laugh, shrugging. “Alright, that’s fair. I can’t wait to tell you what to do tonight.”    
  
Tord widened his eyes a little, giving him a small, playful look of offense. “Don’t just go and assume you’ll dislike it!” Tord nudged him a little, chuckling right after. He shifted and got himself more comfortable, lifting the remote and hitting play once he noticed the trailers be finished. Edd had fallen silent, simply keeping himself snuggled tightly against Tord as he put his focus on the movie.   
  
In actuality, it was actually rather hard for Edd to not enjoy a movie, finding entertainment out of even the shittiest of movies. But, still, it was nice to have the idea of getting something if he happened to not like it in the back of his mind. He was kinda greedy like that.  
  
The movie wasn’t too bad, it was pretty cheesy and the writing was all over the place, but the graphics weren’t that bad, and the acting was alright too. Kinda. Edd found himself entertained at the very least, and in his opinion, that’s all that’s needed to make a movie decent.  
  
Soon enough, the credits began to roll and Edd let out a sigh, feeling Tord’s gaze directly on him. He felt a smile make it’s way to his face and he rolled his eyes, turning his head to look at him. “What is it?”   
  
“Did you like it?” Tord asked quickly, a wide grin on his face. “You didn’t seem to complain during it.”   
  
“Well, usually you don’t talk during movies. So I had no reason to complain  _ during _ it. But, It wasn’t too bad I guess.” Edd shrugged, unable to wipe his own smile off his face. “We didn’t really state what would happen if I did like it, did we? Does this mean  _ you _ get to do whatever you want instead?”   
  
Tord thought for a second, but soon shook his head, motioning towards Edd. “Nope, you can still choose.”   
  
“What?? That doesn’t make any sense, oh my god.” Edd found himself beginning to laugh, finding it ridiculous Tord seemed to want this in the first place. “Why the hell do you say that?”   
  
“I don’t know, I’m just curious what you might think up in that little mind of yours~!” Tord teased, tapping at the top of Edd’s head as he spoke. “So, whatcha wanna do now?”  
  
Edd hummed playfully in thought, deciding he might as well take the obvious offer to be on control for the night. He gave a small grin right after, glancing at him with somewhat of a hooded gaze. “Well, I have  _ one _ thing in mind.” He hummed again, shifting his body so he was sitting up instead, turning and facing Tord. Tord’s face was quickly flushed pink as Edd leaned down towards his face. He didn’t refuse or argue though, allowing Edd to push his lips against his, engaging them into a tender kiss.  
  
His own cheeks starting to burn a little red, Edd slid his eyes shut and simply held the kiss still for a whole moment, before pulling back a few inches, meeting Tord’s eyes. “That’s it.”   
  
Tord blinked, confusion filling his expression for a whole second. “What?”   
  
“That’s it.” Edd repeated, “That’s all I needed.” He gave him a big smile, chuckling a little at himself right after. “Is that alright?”  
  
Tord found his face burning now, as well as himself beginning to scream inside. He was  _ so _ in love with him, it was ridiculous. He snorted a little, letting out a small laugh right after, nuzzling his forehead against Edd’s. “Yeah, that’s alright.”  
  
Edd felt pleased, and he settled himself back down again, nuzzling his face against Tord’s shoulder. “I love you.”   
  
“...I love you too.” Tord replied a little reluctantly, not necessarily lying, but finding it awful to say such things when he knew he would have to leave eventually anyway. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Edd, not just yet. He needed to finish work on his robot before then anyway.  
  
Of course, he couldn’t tell the real reason he was leaving. He had an excuse in mind already. ‘I have to leave for Norway, I need to visit home. Not sure if I’ll be back or not. Don’t keep your hopes up that I will.’  
  
He was going to break Edd’s heart. As much as he didn’t want to, and he was sure Edd wouldn’t necessarily taking it as that. But Edd would definitely be ruined in some form, which was partly why he had still yet brought it upon himself to mention it to him. He couldn’t… not yet.  
  
Tord wrapped an arm around Edd, pulling the blanket over them. He shut the TV off with the remote and settled himself in more comfortably. He rubbed at Edd’s back gently, turning his head and placing a kiss on the top of his head. “You sleepy?”   
  
“A little.”  
  
“You wanna go to sleep?”   
  
“Not yet.”  
  
Tord nodded, resting his head back against the bed, still slowly moving his hand on Edd’s back. “You wanna just lay here?”   
  
Edd nodded, nuzzling his face tighter against Tord’s shoulder, hugging onto his arm a little now along with it. “It’s nice laying with you.”   
  
Tord felt his heart flutter at those words, gulping a little and pressing his face against Edd’s head, staring at a random wall of the room, growing lost in thought again. Well, it was obvious he wouldn’t be working on his robot tonight. Again.  
  
This had happened a few times already since him and Edd had gotten together. He found himself spending more time with Edd instead of spending his nights working on his robot. Right now, Edd felt much more important. But even so, he knew he would need to finish it. Once it was finished, he had to leave.   
  
Maybe that was another factor causing him to simply give up trying to work as fast as possible, as he had before. And nights they ended up in Tord’s room, there was definitely no chance for him to get to his robot. Edd might wake up and notice the sudden extra room attached to the one he was in. Definitely not.  
  
Tord glanced down at Edd, not sure how long he had been lost in thoughts, but holding back a chuckle when he saw how relaxed Edd’s face was, not to mention he felt slightly heavier. He pressed one last kiss to the top of his head, rubbing his back once more before relaxing himself. “Goodnight, Edd.”   
  
- - -  
  
A few weeks pass since that peaceful night, and for once Tord found them watching a movie together like usual, but in Edd’s room instead. Once the movie was ended, and of course Edd eventually fell asleep, Tord made his move. He sucked in a breath, carefully pulling himself out of Edd’s arms. He knew Edd was a decently heavy sleeper, and it showed when the most Edd did in response was curl up with a small snort, staying fast asleep.   
  
Tord let out the breath in relief, running a hand through his hair. He collected himself a little, fixing his clothing and quietly exiting the room, shutting the door slowly. He let out yet another breath of relief, just before flinching like a frightened cat a second later.  
  
“What are you doing?”   
  
Tom’s voice startled Tord, and he quickly flipped himself around, raising his hands in defense. “What?? I-- was heading back to my room.”   
  
Tom had been leaving his own room to head to the bathroom when Tord suspiciously left Edd’s room. Tom knew completely about Tord and Edd being together. Tord figured as much, but it was obvious Edd was oblivious to that idea being true in the slightest. “Yeah, I see that. But every time you and Edd do these dumb movie nights together, you sleep together for the night. So, I ask again. What are you doing?”  
  
Tord gulped a little, not liking how observant Tom was. It made him nervous. “That’s really none of your business, Tom. I just need to work on some stuff, so I decided I’d head to my room.” Well, he wasn’t lying. But he wasn’t telling the full truth of his true intentions either. He earned a doubtful glare from Tom, who slowly crossed his arms and leaned on the wall behind him.  
  
“If you hurt Edd, let me promise you. You will die.”   
  
Tord furrowed his brows in confusion, chest tightening a little. “What? How would that even--”   
  
“I’ll  _ kill _ you, Tord.” Tom quickly stated, bluntly and harshly toned with his words. “I can promise my life on this. Edd really likes you, if you hurt him, I’ll have no choice but to end you for that.”   
  
Tord’s chest felt tighter with every word Tom spoke. He hesitated for a second, before scoffing, turning and beginning to head for his room. “I don’t plan on hurting him. I also don’t plan on letting you kill me either, Tom.” Tord spoke confidently, waving a hand dismissively in Tom’s direction.  
  
Tom frowned, narrowing his eyes a little and pushing himself off the wall, watching him go. “Don’t hurt him.” He reminded one last time, before turning and heading for the bathroom like he had planned originally.  
  
Tord entered his own bedroom and shut the door behind him, sucking in a hard breath and releasing it right after. He leaned his back against the door, resting his head against it and staring towards the ceiling.  
  
What the fuck was he going to do?   
  
Well, no matter what, he refused to allow Tom to actually kill him. Like he’d be able to anyway. But, that really wasn’t what he was worried about. Obviously not.  
  
He was worried about Edd. He would have to tell him the news soon, he wanted him to know first, not learn about it when he mentioned it to the rest of the house. He wanted to be with Edd in private when he tells him. He needed to be there to comfort him. He needed to be there to hug him. He needed to be there for him.  
  
Tord took a deep breath, slowly exhaling it as he raised his hands to run it over his face. He let out a groan, stepping over and letting himself fall onto his bed, curling up in the sheets. He took in the scent of the spot Edd usually slept at, finding it to smell like him at this point. 

 

Was he really going to just give this up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this one, just for it to end up as a flashback chapter. I'm going to attempt and write some more than I have been!! I really wanna get this fic going, I have A LOT planned for it!


	4. An Okay Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom and Edd take some time to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place back in the present!

The first few days after Tord’s sudden visit were mostly uneventful. Edd kept himself locked up in his apartment, and refused to answer the door. Even if he was assured it was Tom or Matt. Hell, he hardly even ever left his bed, not even to eat. He was in bad, bad shape, and by god, Tom didn’t plan on allowing this anymore.  
  
Tom came over one afternoon, like usual, and knocked at the door. He waited, and when there was no answer, he knocked again, speaking up this time. “Edd, it’s me.”  
  
Again, no answer.  
  
Tom let out a sigh, digging through his pocket and pulling out the spare key Edd had given him when they first moved in, unlocking the door and making his way inside. “Edd! I’m coming in!”   
  
Tom glanced around the apartment, finding it extremely dark due to the lights all being off and the curtains shut at every window. Tom took a second to find the light switch, switching it on and looking over the room. He frowned and felt pity show in his face when he noticed the stuff Edd had set up for his personal night, the night Tord showed up, still sitting as it was left that night. Edd hadn’t touched it.  
  
Tom quickly grew worried, and called out again, “Edd??” He walked over to Edd’s bedroom, knocking on the door once before slowly opening the door, lowering his voice a little. “Edd?”  
  
There was no response, but light from the open door gave Tom a clear view of the hump in the sheets of Edd’s bed, telling him he at the very least found Edd. He let out a sigh, stepping himself over and sitting down on the edge of the bed, staring off at one of the walls of the room. “We’ve been really worried about you. Have you even left your bed since…?”  
  
Edd finally shifted a little, pulling the covers off of his head a little, only letting his eyes be seen. They looked red and he had heavy dark bags under them. He didn’t look good. “It doesn’t matter.”  
  
“Edd…” Tom glanced over at him, expression saddening when he saw the state of his friend. “I-- I know this is taking a toll on you but, we can’t just sit around and let you deal with this on your own anymore.”  
  
Edd narrowed his eyes, shaking his head and averting his gaze from Tom. “I’m fine. I can handle this on my own.”  
  
“When was the last time you ate?” Tom asked suddenly, obviously taking Edd by surprise for a second. “Answer me, Edd.”  
  
Edd hesitated, shrugging. “I don’t know, a few days ago…? I’m not hungry.” Edd glanced to Tom again, finally pulling his head completely out of the covers. “Why?”  
  
It was now Tom could get an even better look at Edd’s current condition. He was paler than a ghost, and he looked ill. Tom felt the worry from before rise up, and he pushed himself up, silently leaving the room. Edd didn’t do anything to stop him, hoping he was just leaving the apartment. Maybe he didn’t want to deal with him.  
  
Tom came back after only a few minutes however, a bag of crackers in hand, as well as a glass of water. He sat himself down next to him and set the items down on the nightstand for a moment so he could pull Edd from his covers and sit him up.  
  
Edd groaned, but felt too weak to really fight against him, slumping against his pillows after he was made to sit up. He frowned, watching Tom take the glass of water and put it to his lips.

  
“Drink.”  
  
Edd hesitated for a second, but found himself feeling too thirsty to actually deny the drink, raising his arms and taking the cup, taking a few large gulps of the drink. Tom made sure to stop him so he didn’t drink the entire cup at once, and handed him the crackers right after.   
  
Tom sat himself down in front of him, watching him closely as Edd began to eat at the food he was given as well with little to no arguments. “I’m not letting you sit here by yourself anymore.”  
  
“What?” Edd spoke up after swallowing down the mouthful of food he had, giving him an odd look. “Why??”

  
Tom blinked slowly, motioning to Edd. “Do you _really_ need to ask that?” Tom let out a heavy sigh, giving him a look of worry right after, resting a hand on Edd’s shoulder. “You are not okay right now, I get that. But letting yourself get like… like _this_ isn’t going to help anything.”  
  
Edd shifted, pushing his hand away and shoving another cracker into his mouth, attempting to speak with his mouth full, but paused, allowing himself to swallow it before speaking again, “I know what I’m doing, Tom. I’ll be fin-”  
  
“No. _Edd_ , I need you to listen to me.” Tom placed both his hands on Edd’s shoulders now, meeting his eyes with his own soulless black ones. “I am not going to allow this to go on. You need _help_. Real help.”   
  
Edd stared at him for a second, going quiet for a moment. He felt his strong facade quickly melt away though, tears pricking his eyes as he sniffled a little. He found more tears overflow from his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. He moved himself forward, pressing himself against Tom,clinging tightly onto the blue fabric of his hoodie, burying his face against him tightly.   
  
Tom held his arms out for a moment, mostly in a short moment of shock at the sudden behavior from Edd, but it took it as a good sign, letting a small sad smile make it’s way to his face. He wrapped his arms back around Edd, hushing him gently and rubbing at his back. “You’re alright.. I got you.”  
  
Edd broke into harder sobs as seconds went by, all the pain he piled up the past few days letting out all at once. It was easy to just hold it in when he was alone, but now he was with Tom. And Tom was obviously worried about him and his behavior, and it was his fault. He made him worry.  
  
He needed to accept his help. What kind of asshole would he be if he didn’t?  
  


- - -  
  


It took a few weeks before Edd was finally coming back to health, both mentally and physically. Emotionally?? Not so much.   
  
Tom practically lived at Edd’s apartment nowadays, always over and rarely ever seen anywhere else. He always made sure Edd got something to eat, and that he was as happy as he could be. And god did he make sure Edd actually got out of the house. Sometimes they’d go out with Matt to eat out for the night, or they simply went shopping for some groceries. Anything that would keep Edd from staying cooped up in that apartment.  
  
Tom had slept at his own apartment for once, mostly to test if Edd would be alright on his own now, and checked in on him the next morning, inviting himself into the apartment. “Edd, you up?”

  
“Yeah!” He heard a quick response from the kitchen, and Tom smiled a little, shutting the door behind him as he headed towards the direction of the voice. “You eating?”  
  
Edd blinked, turning from the stove he was stood at, giving him a teasing look, shrugging. “No, I’m not eating, obviously. I’m making these eggs for a ghost.”  
  
“Alright, smartass.” Tom grunted, stepped over and ruffling his hair a little, making it even messier than it was already. “I’m glad to see that. Those eggs look really good.”  
  
“You want some?” Edd offered, turning his attention back to the pan, flipping the eggs around a little. “I have plenty for you to eat too, ya know.” He was doing decently well now at keeping himself in good moods, and though they didn’t always last, the fact they came to begin with was a great sign. And it gave Tom bundles of relief.   
  
Tom hummed in thought for a moment, not too hungry just then, but deciding it’d be hypocritical to always bitch at Edd to eat, just for him to not do so as well. So he gave a nod, smiling a bit wider. “You know what, I think I’ll take up that offer. Some eggs sound great, Edd. Thanks.”

  
Tom moved himself and sat down at the small kitchen table, making himself comfortable. “Did you sleep okay last night?”  
  
Edd suddenly turned his head to glance at Tom, a big grin on his face. “I did actually!! It was super nice.. It’s the best sleep I’ve gotten in awhile.”   
  
Ah, so that was the reason Edd’s mood was so high for once. Tom felt relief fill even more of his body, and he relaxed into his seat a little. “That’s good to hear. No nightmares?”

  
“Nope!” Edd hummed a little, sliding the finished eggs onto a plate, and bringing it over to Tom, setting it down in front of him. He smiled at the small thanks given to him from Tom, and he stepped back over to the stove, starting on his own batch of eggs. “What about you? Did you sleep good?”  
  
“Yeah, I guess so.” Tom shrugged, not having much meaning to his words. He didn’t have nightmares or anything of the sort, and he slept through the night once he finally got to sleep. But, it took him ages to finally get to sleep, finding himself worried about leaving Edd alone for once. But everything seemed good, and Edd even had a good night's sleep for once.  
  
Eating quietly at the eggs given to him, Tom found himself accidentally staring at Edd, not even realizing he was doing so until Edd turned around with his own plate of eggs, his eyes still locked on him until Edd was sat down.

  
“--What is it??”   
  
Edd’s voice snapped Tom out of his trance, and he felt his cheeks flush a little pink, glancing down to his eggs instead. “Ah, nothing. Just got lost in thought for a moment there, don’t worry about it.”   
  
Edd raised a brow, taking a bite of his eggs, before laughing a little, shaking his head. “You’re such a weirdo sometimes, Tom.”   
  
Tom felt a smile come to his face, shrugging. “I guess so. You’re not any better though, you weirdo.”   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little short, sorry! the next chapters will be rather long, so take this to keep you guys occupied until i finish those!


	5. A Scary Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edd ends up meeting Tord again.

Life really didn’t seem to be on Edd’s side. Here he was, finally getting a bit better after everything-- but… that would spin right back on it’s heel soon. Very, very soon. A few weeks had passed now since Edd was adjusting back to normal life, and now he slept on his own often, not needing Tom’s company constantly. While it was nice, he decided it’d be best to try to sleep on his own more often so he wasn’t so dependent.  
  
Edd headed to bed like normal, sending Tom and Matt home after a day of hanging out, and was ready to fall to sleep, exhausted from the day’s activities. So, once he made it to his room, he got settled into bed and took barely any time to fall asleep.  
  
Sleeping alone more often was a worse idea than he had expected it to be though. It felt like a normal night all the way until morning, at which Edd woke up. He blinked his eyes open slowly, wincing at light coming in from his bedroom window. He rubbed at one of his eyes, groaning. He always hated having the window so close to his bed--  
  
Wait.  
  
His apartment bedroom didn’t have a window right there- nor had he had a room like that since… the house. The one that had been destroyed. Edd blinked harder a few times to get readjusted to the light, glancing around the room, feeling his chest tighten up. He was.. In his old room? But-- how could that even happen??    
  
He tried to get his bearings, glancing to the window that had woken him up, moving closer to it to get a better look outside, but it occurred to him then that it wasn’t even actually outside. It was a picture, and somehow simulated light from the sun. He gulped, growing scared and confused. This had to be some weird dream. No way was this real, right?  
  
Edd backed away from the window, scooting to the end of his bed. He glanced around the room once more, taking in how incredibly similar it was. Like someone who knew his room as well as he did made it-- like…   
  
Edd flinched, flipping his body around to face the ‘bedroom door’ and watch it open. The man who showed up behind it made his skin crawl. His stomach twisted and he grew pale. He still had scars, and a weird robotic arm, like before. He’s never had dreams this vivid before.. At least not about anything but that one event, which was hard to remember in any way but vividly.  
  
“You’re awake…” That voice. Edd felt a sharp shiver run down his body at the sound of it, all of it going straight to his stomach, which twisted even further. His stomach was giving him  _ pain _ . He couldn’t be dreaming.. Shit.    
  
Growing even more terrified and scared, Edd backed himself to the opposite end of the bed now, pushing himself against the headboard. “T-T-Tord..” Edd barely squeaked out the name, finding it hard to form words.  
  
Tord stepped into the room and shut the door behind him, placing his hands behind his back, and stood straight. “I- I’m glad to see you again, Edd. Especially with no chance of Tom beating my face in again. That hurt you know?” Tord let out a bitter chuckle, his attitude and behavior much different from everything Edd remembered. Tord stepped a bit closer, his eyes-- er, eye never leaving Edd. “Isn’t this great? I fixed everything for you! I made a nice little room just like you had before.. To make up for destroying your last one. You like it?”   
  
Edd began to tremble, unsure what to think, what to say, what to do. He only stared at Tord, fear clear in his facial expression. He stayed silent for a long moment, and Tord didn’t seem to mind. He also stayed quiet, giving Edd time to gather his thoughts. Finally, Edd spoke up.  
  
“W-Where am I?”   
  
“Home.” Tord answered simply, his expression not changing. It was something of soft, but with a firmness to it. He wasn’t smiling. Edd shook his head, attempting to press himself closer to the headboard, but found he was already pushing his body against as much as he could. “This-- This isn’t home. Home is back with M-Matt and.. And T-”   
  
“No.” Tord quickly interrupted, voice lowering, his expression turning much more firm now. “You are  _ home _ , Edd. With me. I-- I just wanna fix things. I wanna go back to how things were before. That’s why I built this… I built it just for you! Don’t you like it?”   
  
Edd stared at him in even more fear, along with disbelief. He… couldn’t believe this was real. How could this be real. Tears began to fill Edd’s eyes finally, and he shook his head once more. “No, no no.. I wanna go home. This isn’t home! I- I want to be back with Tom!!! And--” Edd gasped, flinching and covering his head with his hands when Tord suddenly stepped closer. Why was he scared he’d hit him? He’s never done that before-- maybe it was just his atmosphere. He seemed so ready to do.. just about anything.  
  
Tord took a deep breath, reaching a hand out to pet Edd’s hair, shaking his head. “Shh.. you have me now though. You- You missed me, didn’t you?”   
  
Edd didn’t respond, only curling his body up, trembles worsening as he broke into soft sobs. Tord quickly noticed this, and he retracted his hand, letting his expression soften. He frowned, lowering his gaze and placing his hands behind his back again. “I’ll give you some time to adjust.” Tord said simply, turning and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
Edd kept himself curled up, not moving until he was sure Tord was gone. He lifted his head up slowly, sniffling and raising a hand to rub at the tears running down his face. He hesitated, staring at the door for a couple minutes before slowly pushing himself up. He wobbled a little on his feet, stepping over and grabbing at the knob. He tried to turn it, and wasn’t surprised when it didn’t open. Of course it was locked. Why would Tord give him a chance to just walk out.  
  
Glancing back around the room once more, Edd bit at his lip, more tears spilling down his cheeks. How did this happen? He only remembered going to sleep last night… in his apartment. How did he get here?  
  
The only possible way he could think was.. Tord kidnapping him in his sleep. The mere thought of that made him cringe, and he felt sick to his stomach. Edd let out a shaky breath, moving himself to his bed again and laying down, curling himself up into a tight ball.  
  
He just wanted to be home. He just wish he never met Tord in the first place. God damn it.  
  
- - -  
  
Tom hummed quietly to himself as he made his way to Edd’s apartment, knocking on the door and using his key to open it right after, all too used to letting himself in every morning now. “Hey Edd, you up yet?”  
  
He shut the door behind him, glancing around the living room and then towards the kitchen. He didn’t see any sign of Edd and chuckled a little to himself, rolling his eyes and stepping to Edd’s bedroom. “Edd? Come on, it’s almost noon! You gotta--” Tom stopped quickly, opening the bedroom door to not find him in bed, or the room at all for that matter. “Ah..” Tom frowned, furrowing his brows and going to check the last place in the apartment Edd could be, knocking on the bathroom door and opening it shortly after. “Edd?”  
  
Tom tried to not worry just yet. Edd wouldn’t leave on his own, but he could go to Matt’s on his own. Maybe he was just over there already. Tom left the apartment and made a beeline to Matt’s apartment, knocking at the door.  
  
Matt opened up the door a minute later, giving Tom a big smile. “Heya pal! What’s up?”   
  
“Hey Matt- uh.. Is Edd here?” Tom asked, already trying to glance over his tall friend to see if he could catch sight of the brunette in the room behind him.  
  
“Edd? Uh- no, he isn’t I haven’t seen him since he said goodnight last night. Isn’t he home?” Matt stepped back, offering for Tom to come inside. But Tom didn’t seem to be in any rush to do so.  
  
Tom finally felt the panic set in, stomach growing colder in temperature. He shook his head, backing up a little and glancing around as if hoping Edd would suddenly appear near him. “No- he wasn’t. I-- I don’t know where he is. Oh god-- where the hell could he have…”   
  
Matt frowned, noticing Tom’s sudden panic. He stepped forward a little and placed a hand on Tom’s shoulder, tilting his head a little. “Hey, hey Tom, come on, calm down. I’m sure he’s fine. Maybe he just headed to the store or something.”   
  
“He doesn’t just  _ leave _ on his own, Matt.” Tom quickly retaliated, more and more panic settling in every second that he didn’t know where Edd was. Tom stepped back again, glancing around once more before making his way towards the exit, waving off at Matt. “I’m going to go find him. See ya.”   
  
“Tom!” Matt tried to call out to him, rushing up and grabbing at his hand, pulling him back. “There’s no point! He’ll probably be home soon. Why are you so worried-”   
  
“Matt! Don’t you understand?? He doesn’t do this! He wouldn’t just leave! He would at the very least tell me first, or leave something to let us know he left I-- Hold on.” Tom took a few breaths, pulling out his phone and stepping back into Edd’s apartment again, calling Edd’s number. He waited a moment, and felt his heart sink when Edd’s ringtone began to ring out loud and clear, from Edd’s bedroom.  
  
Matt frowned, rubbing at his arm a little as he stood in the doorway to the apartment, shrugging a little. “M-Maybe he.. Just forgot to bring it with him?”  
  
Tom shut off his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He silently made his way back out and pushed past Matt, stepping down the stairs to get out to the street. “I’m looking for him. Stay here in case he actually does come back.”   
  
Matt didn’t try to stop him this time, feeling a little worry sink in himself. Tom knew Edd much better than he did, so he decided it’d be safe to just take Tom’s worries and words to heart. He gulped and nodded, exiting the apartment and shutting the door behind him. “Yeah, uh, good luck.”  
  
Tom was worried, angry, and scared, all at once. Where was Edd? What happened to him? Did he actually just leave, just like that? Or did.. Something happen to him???

 

He was going to find out where his friend was, no matter what it took. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay this time around!! Thanksgiving break just happened so I decided to take a break from writing as well! But I'm back now!!


	6. A Changing Night

   When Edd had been given the ‘time to adjust’, it took a bit longer than Tord might of hoped. Edd didn’t like the small space, it gave him too many memories he didn’t want to think about. While they were good memories, somehow that made it worse. Every time Tord came to check on him, Edd refused to let him get close, and didn’t speak to him. He wasn’t going to allow himself to give Tord what he wanted. Tord wanted to talk to him, to fix things, but he couldn’t let that happen.  
  
So, Edd figured just not speaking or humoring Tord would be the best course of action. It was obvious it was getting Tord too, he was sounding more desperate every time he checked on him. Edd found himself falling back closer and closer to the mindset from before. When he used to still miss Tord, and want his company back. He didn’t mean to, not at all, but it was really hard when you were alone in a single room all day, only seeing that _ one _ person a few times a day.  
  
Edd finally decided maybe he’d speak up for once. He waited for the time of day to come along when Tord came to check on him. Edd never really ever left his bed. He had food brought to him, and though there were plenty of things in the room to keep him entertained, he refused to use them. He always just sat curled up against the headboard of the bed, staring off at a wall, or at his knees. Or he slept. He didn’t do much else.  
  
While being sat curled up, his eyes locked down at the sheets of the bed, he flinched a little when the usual click of the door unlocking was heard. Edd lifted his head and looked up as the door opened, Tord quietly entering the room. Edd kept his eyes locked on him, keeping his face straight.  
  
“Hey Edd, how’s it going? You feeling.. Better yet?” Tord spoke up, repeating the same question he asked every time he checked up on him, usually hoping for a response. He didn’t really expect one at this point, so opened his mouth to continue, but stopped when Edd suddenly spoke up quietly in response.   
  
“I’m fine. I wanna go home.”  
  
Tord widened his eyes a little, staring over at him, before letting his expression soften, shaking his head with a bitter chuckle. “I told you before, you _ are _ home…” Tord sighed, stepping over and sitting himself down at the end of the bed, glancing around the room quietly. “I brought you back home. It’s like bringing you back in time, so..” Tord glanced to him, shifting a bit closer and resting a hand on Edd’s knee. “Why don’t you come back too?”   
  
Edd frowned, quickly shoving his hand away and scooting himself away from him, shaking his head. “No, this is fake. Y-You’re fake. You don’t care about me. This room is fake. The rest of the house isn’t here, Tom and Matt aren’t here, my  _ feelings _ aren’t here. There is no going back in time, Tord.”   
  
Tord took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling it and keeping his face set. “That’s why I’m trying to help, Edd. I want you to be able to be back. Really I do, I wish I could have an entire new house built for you. Just like the old one, Tom and Matt could live in it with you. But, obviously that can’t happen. This is the most I can do right now, Edd. Isn’t this enough?”  
  
Narrowing his eyes, Edd felt slight anger bubble up inside him at Tord’s explanation for his actions. Tord really thought he could get things back to how they were before? How.. why.. Edd sent Tord a sharp glare, shaking his head. “You aren’t getting me back, Tord. You could keep me here for the rest of my life and that wouldn’t happen.” Edd tried to sound confident, though even he knew he couldn’t keep it up that long. Not when a part of him still missed Tord. It was only a matter of time before that part let him accept Tord again-- right?   
  
Tord let out a sigh, lowering his gaze a little for a short moment before bringing his attention back up to Edd. “I’ll wait then. If you don’t relax, fine. Whatever. But- if you do, just know… I’ll be the happiest man alive.” Tord turned and silently headed back to the door then, exiting the room without another word.  
  
Edd watched him go, keeping his glare on his face until Tord finally left. He let his muscles relax and lowered his gaze to the bed, quickly losing himself in his thoughts. He was already feeling that small pang of pain when Tord left. It always was stronger every time. He was starting to.. Miss him. Tord was not the same as he was before, that much was obvious to him.  
  
But yet, he felt he was still in there. Maybe, if he allowed himself to relax around Tord again, that Tord might come back? And… maybe if he came back, he’d have the sense to let him go.  
  
\- - -  
  
Some more time passed, a few weeks passed. Edd was finding it harder to keep himself from enjoying Tord’s company. He got excited every time Tord came to check on him and talk to him, though he did his best to hide it. He’d try to stall Tord as much as possible, to make him stay as long as possible without him noticing his actual want for his company.  
  
He didn’t want to let himself give Tord that satisfaction.  
  
Tord wasn’t that oblivious though. Though Edd did do a good job hiding it, Tord noticed how he seemed to try and keep him talking, keep him in the room longer, he didn’t just sit silently like he had before. He seemed more desperate to talk each time he checked on him. So, he had a plan. He was going to see if Edd was really changing, or if he was simply trying to take the small amount of human interaction he had so he didn’t go insane.  
  
Either way, he was enjoying his company again, and that was what he wanted.  
  
Entering the room quietly like normal, Tord shut the door behind him and set the tray of food he had down on the dresser. He didn’t speak a word, not even responding to Edd’s small greeting. He turned and made his way over to Edd, not allowing himself to hesitate. He leaned down and placed a hand over Edd’s cheek, pressing his lips against Edd’s with no warning. He expected Edd to pull away straight away, so didn’t go into it with much confidence.  
  
Edd had got nervous when Tord didn’t speak, and only came so close to him. He tried to back up a little from where he was sat, but froze in place once the hand was to his cheek. The world seemed to freeze right after that. It felt like a million memories rushed to his mind at once, and he only sat still in place, allowing the lips to stay pressed to his own. Edd began to tremble within just a few seconds, tears filling his eyes as he became overwhelmed with emotion. He missed him.. He really did… This felt too good.  
  
Slowly returning the kiss, Edd raised shaky hands to grasp onto Tord’s clothing, pulling himself closer. He felt his mind melting. Like it was melting down into a mold, a mold made by Tord. He was a candle Tord had bought, and allowed to burn down until melted all the way down to the proper shape. He was molded.  
  
Tord felt a grin come across his face when Edd gave a clear response to the kiss, and with it being just the kind of response he had hoped for, he inwardly cheered. He’d won. He’d won Edd back. Tord pulled away a few moments later, staring into Edd’s face. “Hey, Edd.”   
  
Edd sniffled, clutching tighter onto Tord’s clothing when he pulled away, not wanting him to leave the room. Or leave him for that matter. He needed his company. He wanted his company. He needed him.  
  
“T-Tord… I--”   
  
“Shh..” Tord hushed him, wiping some of the tears from his cheeks. “I know… it’s okay now. I’m right here. I’m not leaving.” He let his expression relax further when Edd broke into sobs right then, from obvious relief. Tord opened his arms and wrapped them around the crying man, pulling him close and rubbing at his back. “Shhh… I have you, you’re okay. I’ll take care of you this time. I  _ promise _ .”    
  
Edd pushed his face tight against Tord’s chest, pressing his body against him once the arms wrapped around him. All those emotions he tried so so hard to push down. All of them, seemed to bubble back up so easily. Even after everything, here he was, hugging onto Tord. The man who ruined  _ everything _ for him.  
  
He was allowing himself to be manipulated to Tord’s wants, also known as: the exact thing he _ didn’t _ want to happen.  
  
Tord let Edd cry all his emotions out for a while, only pulling back a little when Edd finally seemed to calm down. “You okay now?”   
  
Edd gave a nod, sniffling and raising a hand to rub at his face. “I- r-really missed you… I-- really I d-did.” Edd admitted, glancing up to meet Tord’s eyes, his face appearing different to him now. Like-- like it did back before. When they were dating. He was beautiful. He was pure. He was good. “I-- I love you.”   
  
Tord blinked and widened his eyes when he heard the words leave Edd’s lips, not expecting to hear them this soon. Did.. Edd break down already that much? Tord gulped, letting out a soft bitter chuckle, pressing a kiss to Edd’s forehead. “I love you too, Edd. A lot.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to add more to this chapter but after rereading it I feel if I attempted to lengthen it with the next part I have planned it'd feel TOO long and make the next chapter too short so :0 here you guys go


	7. A Dissappointing Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tord and Edd have an intimate moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically nsfw, but is not EXTREMELY important to the plot, so you can understand the story without reading it.

Edd’s mind had already given in to the situation at hand, but it seemed to just do so more as time passed. He was falling back in love with Tord, falling head over heels for him like he had before. He relished in all the time spent with Tord in his room. Tord  seemed busy, as he always had to leave in the end, never able to stay with him all day, nor sleep with him for the night.  
  
Edd did his best to not let it bother him though. He didn’t even know what was outside this room, so decided whatever Tord always had to leave to do must of been important, and he just didn’t know. He couldn’t help but feel sad when Tord left after his check-ups, which had each grown much longer. He usually ended up staying with Edd for hours at a time now, instead of just minutes.  
  
It was nearing the time Tord would have to get up and leave Edd once again, as he did every night. He had work to do outside of caring after Edd. After all, Edd wasn’t his main goal originally. Edd just was a bit of a bump in the road, that turned out to be something valuable, and kept with him. He still needed to drive to his destination though. Tord smiled and ran his hand through Edd’s hair, pressing a small kiss to his forehead.  
  
Edd hummed happily, completely and utterly head over heels for Tord again at this point now. It’d been almost a month since he had been locked up in here, and it hadn’t been long before he was completely manipulated. He had almost forgotten about Tom and Matt at this point. Edd cuddled himself tighter against Tord, enjoying his company. He could feel the fact it was nearing the time Tord would have to leave again, but he didn’t want him to. Not again. It was annoying… and irritated him sometimes.  
  
“Hey.. Tord.” Edd spoke up quietly, glancing up to meet his gaze. “I want you to stay with me tonight..”  
  
Tord blinked, letting out a soft sigh, shaking his head. “I’m sorry Edd, you know I can’t do that. I am too busy.” Tord pressed another kiss to his forehead, caressing one of his cheeks as he shifted their position a bit, laying more comfortably next to him. “I have work to do, you know that.”  
  
Edd frowned, turning his gaze away from him, pouting. “Yeah I know but- I don’t even know what you’re doing that’s so busy. You can’t spare even one night?” Edd let his pout deepened, attempting to give him bigger eyes, much like a puppy. “Please?”  
  
“I--” Tord bit at his lip, getting caught off guard with Edd’s sudden puppy face, letting out a soft groan a moment later, glancing off away from Edd. “I.. can’t stay the night but.. I can- stay a little longer if you want.” Tord turned his gaze back to him again, frowning when he saw the disappointment in Edd’s expression. “That’s the most I can give right now."  
  
Edd sighed, nuzzling his face against Tord’s shoulder, nodding. “Okay.. But as soon as you have the time, you need to stay with me for a night, okay?”  
  
Tord hesitated for a moment, staying quiet before letting out another sigh. He nodded, pressing his face against Edd’s head. “Yeah, I promise.” Tord held his face there for a minute or two before he pulled back, pressing his forehead against Edd’s instead.  
  
Edd blinked, staring into his eyes and letting a smile make it’s way over his face. “I love you.” He waited as he heard Tord’s still slightly reluctant response, his cheeks flushing. Edd moved his head forward a little to press his lips to Tord’s, sliding his eyes shut.  
  
Tord happily returned the kiss, raising a hand to caress Edd’s cheek, tilting his head a bit into the action. He enjoyed these more intimate moments with Edd, and made sure to cherish every single second of them. He was a fool to not do as much previously, always having assumed he’d somehow get to keep this.  
  
But, thankfully, Edd was back. He had his affection once again, and he was determined to keep it. He’d treat Edd a whole thousand times better than he once had. Edd was his royalty, and he was the servant. This room was Edd’s castle, and he was here so he was protected, and Tord would serve as a perfect servant, keeping him as pleased in his castle as possible.  
  
Tord hummed softly as he broke the kiss, tilting his head to press small kisses against Edd’s neck, running a hand through his hair. “I love you so much, Edd..”  
  
“I l-love you too..” Edd tilted his head back a little, letting out a soft breath, letting his body relax into all of Tord’s kisses and little touches. He gasped and let out a soft whine when he felt Tord suddenly bite into his neck a little, though only slightly. He gulped, wrapping his arms around Tord tightly, cheeks growing hotter and stomach twisting into pleasant knots.  
  
It’d be a while since the two of them did anything more than this, and Tord was a bit eager to do something about it. But he worked slow, trying to not rush into it, giving Edd all the time in the world to tell him no, if needed. Tord kissed against the small part of his skin that he had just sunk his teeth into, and moved his head down lower, but groaned in annoyance for a whole second. He leaned back and tugged again Edd’s shirt a little, meeting his eyes. “..This okay?”  
  
Edd gave him a small nod, knowing exactly what he meant. Tord nodded back in response, carefully pulling Edd’s shirt up and off over his head. Tord let his eyes roam over Edd’s bare chest for a second, before he let his head move back down again, his lips connecting against Edd’s collarbone, while his hands gently roamed his sides, rubbing along them and delicately feeling the shape of them.  
  
Sucking in a soft breath as he relished in the touches, Edd raised his hands to lightly run them through Tord’s hair, always enjoying the unique feeling it had in his hands. Edd gripped onto the strands and tugged a little with a gasp though, Tord biting once more, but at his collarbone this time. Edd let out a soft groan, and as did Tord, having no expected the sudden pull at his hair.  
  
Tord reeled back, letting out a sigh and leaning back up to push his lips against Edd’s a few times, reaching down and pulling at Edd’s pants, sliding them down. Edd didn’t do anything to stop him, and even encouraged him by helping push the clothing down.  
  
The pants were gone quickly, and Edd’s boxers came very shortly afterwards. Tord pushed a firmer kiss against Edd’s lips, sliding his tongue into the Brit’s mouth. Edd responded eagerly, shivering with a moan against his mouth when Tord let his hand travel down, running along Edd’s thigh, then soon to Edd’s cock. He wrapped his hand around it and stroked slowly. The noises he got from Edd in response only made Tord very pleased to keep going, but kept the easy pace of his strokes, his other hand still rubbing along Edd’s side.  
  
Edd curled his toes against the mattress a little, his arms wrapped tightly around Tord once more, eyes shut tight as he moved his lips in rhythm with Tord’s. He took in a breath of air when Tord pulled back, and Edd kept his hazy eyes locked on him now. “T-Tord..”  
  
Tord blinked and met Edd’s gaze when he heard the desperate whine from Edd, and he chuckled a little, nodding. “Yeah..” Tord stopped his strokes, pulling his hands away and shifting up onto his knees, beginning to undo his pants, and pull them down. He tensed and stopped suddenly though, a faint vibration ringing for a short second. Edd knew that noise.  
  
Edd felt his heart ache instantly, and he frowned up at him. “Tord--”  
  
“I-I’m sorry..” Tord gulped, slowly zipping his pants back up and backing away, getting off of the bed. He grunted when he felt hands grip onto his shirt though, glancing down, and feeling his heart lurch when he saw a pleading gaze from Edd. “I-- I have to go-- I’m being called and I have work to- to do..”  
  
Edd shook his head, gripping tighter onto his clothing and pulling on it a little. “N-No.. we are having a n-nice time right now p-please… stay a l-little longer..”  
  
Tord hesitated, averting his gaze quickly, unable to keep his eyes on Edd’s desperate gaze. Tord gulped, reaching down and forcing Edd’s hands off of his clothing, backing away out of his reach. “I’m… really sorry, Edd.” Tord took a breath, brushing himself off and fixing his clothing, as well as his hair, making himself look at least a little presentable. “I have to go.. I’ll- come by later if I have the time.”  
  
“Tor--”  
  
“Goodnight, Edd.” Tord turned, exiting the room, letting out a heavy sigh once out. He reached back and pulled out his phone, reading over the text sent to him, telling him what work he was meant to be doing right then. Tord groaned a little, sighing. “I’m sorry, Edd.”  
  
Edd blinked a few times, staring at the door for a few moments. He gulped, tears filling up his eyes, frustration boiling over. He groaned, turning and plopping himself against the bed, pressing his face tightly into the pillow. He groaned loudly into it for a second, relaxing right after. He stayed quiet for a second, before sniffling, curling up tight and hugging onto the pillow tightly. He broke into soft sobs, curling up as tight as possible.  
  
Why was Tord always so busy? It wasn’t fair… He missed him a lot. Ugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Took a bit of a break for the holidays ;o; I'm back now though!!
> 
> Sorry this chapter is rather short though;; Hoping for longer chapters later!


	8. A Heroic Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom finds a lead, and makes his way to save Edd.

This took so much planning. Months and months of planning. Tom wasn’t sure he’d ever had so little sleep in his life, sometimes staying up nights in a row, trying to find _anything_ to tell him where Edd was. He easily had suspicion that Tord was who had taken him, and in the end, he was right. It wasn’t too long into his search that he figured out that much, at the very least. But, he still couldn’t figure out _where_ he was.  
  
Eventually, Tom was able to narrow it down. After visiting many many different websites, most ones that were probably even illegal to be on at all, he found it. He found the exact location of the building he was in, and found out some information about Tord’s dumb army. He managed to pull some strings and get an outfit fitting of the uniforms worn by the army, and after finding a way to hide his eyes-- that would definitely give him away- he snuck himself in.  
  
It was surprisingly easy, the soldiers not seeming very attentive, or at least not as much as they should be, allowing him to easily sneak past them. Tom made sure to be extra careful, knowing Tord must be in this building somewhere, and if he ran into him, this disguise wouldn’t be enough to hide his identity from __him.  
  
He checked various rooms, the building seeming to go on forever, never finding anything. He almost ran into soldiers a few times, though thankfully they didn’t think much of him even if they did spot him, his disguise helping him get by scott free. Tom opened up another door, blinking when he entered a room full of just-- screens. Lots and lots of screens, like security cameras. He stepped inside and glanced over the many screens, then down to the control board beneath all of them.  
  
Tom pressed a few buttons, trying to figure out how to get the damn thing to work, knowing this could easily be his key to finding out where Edd was. He figured out how to somehow fast forward, and rewind the screens at least, but groaned softly in annoyance when he saw no sign of Edd on any of the monitors.  
  
He finally glanced around, ready to turn around and search again, when he tensed up, noticing a smaller section of screens, all of the same room, simply at different angles. He felt his heart jump when he saw exactly what was on those screens though-- Edd. He quickly stepped over to the monitors, staring at them for a whole second before messing with more buttons, doing the only thing he learned how to do in the time he’d been there- rewind. He let the tapes rewind and rewind, feeling more sick to his stomach as he noticed how much time Edd seemed to spend simply laying in bed.  
  
He tensed up and clenched a fist though, heart lurching in his chest as Tord seemed to always come in throughout the day, and in the recent tapes… He shivered, not liking it. He didn’t want to know about Tord and Edd doing.. _That_. Tom forced himself to stop the tape, glancing to the label that told him exactly what room those screens were of. C-31.  
  
Tom quickly made sure to memorize that number, and turned, carefully exiting the room after giving all the screens a quick rewind, giving them time to sneak out unnoticed if anyone decided to look at the cameras.  
  
It took a long time of searching but he finally found the room. He gulped, looking over the door and finding the lock to be rather simple, allowing him to unlock it with ease, slowly opening the door. “...Edd?”  
  
Edd lifted his head up when he heard the door open, immediately expecting to see Tord- after all, it’s the only person he’s seen for months now. So, seeing and hearing someone that wasn’t Tord sent immediate fear into him, and he tensed, backing up a little, sitting against his headboard. “W-What?? Where’s…”  
  
“Shh sh sh.. It’s me-” Tom removed the hat that was mostly hiding his face, stepping into the room and over to him. “I’m taking you home, Edd.”  
  
Edd blinked a few times, looking confused, and more importantly, _scared._ He gulped, body tense, and it showing in his voice as he spoke up. “...Where’s T-Tord..???”  
  
Tom felt his heart lurch a little in his chest, stepping a bit more into the room. He saw those tapes, he saw the stuff Edd and Tord had been up to, but he hadn’t really considered what it could of done to Edd.. but-- It felt like Edd didn’t even recognize him. What the _fuck_ did Tord do to him?  
  
“Edd….” Tom spoke up more quietly, stepping closer to the bed, reaching for his hand. “It’s me, Tom. Why are you so scared..?”   
  
Edd flinched himself back when Tom tried to reach for him, nearly falling off the bed in the process. He didn’t want to leave. Tom looked familiar, but he was having a hard time remembering his now repressed memories, unsure if he is bad or not. But nonetheless if he was a friend or not, he didn’t want to leave. Tord was here!  
  
“Edd……?” Tom bit his lip, looking worriedly towards the door, afraid soldiers, or worse, __Tord could show up any second. It would not end up good if that happened.. He needed to get out with Edd. Now.  
  
Ignoring struggles this time, Tom stepped closer and reached for him, grabbing at his arm and pulling him a little. “I’m taking you home, Edd.” He widened his eyes and flinched when Edd let out a yell of fear in response, nearly tugging him down onto the bed as he tried to flinch away, beginning to try and call for Tord. Tom kept his hold on him though, and quickly pulled him close, attempting to cover his mouth. “SHHH!! Shhh shh.. Oh my god…” Tom gulped, heart beating faster as he glanced to the door again, ready to bolt with Edd if anyone showed up.   
  
Edd squirmed, struggling in the hold and grasping on the hand over his mouth, trying to pry it away so he could yell. “mMN!! NNM!!!”   
  
Tom used all his strength to keep hold of Edd, hushing him again as he tried to pull him toward the door. He did grab something from one of the many rooms he’d been in so far, but had grabbed it in hope to use it on Tord or a soldier if they got into trouble. But, there was no way they’d get out of here with Edd making this much noise and squirming so much… 

  
Taking a breath, Tom kept hold on Edd with one arm while he reached back into his pocket, grabbing a damp rag. “Come on, Edd… I need you to be quiet.. This will just let you sleep for a while, okay?” Edd didn’t seem to be listening, so Tom simply let out a breath and moved the rag to press it against Edd’s noise, it only taking a few minutes for Edd to slowly give up his struggles, and fall heavy in his arms. 

  
Chloroform. He really hoped it was safe to use- He had only put just enough on the rag when he had found the chemical. He relaxed a little once Edd was finally quiet, taking a quick moment to double check and make sure he was breathing, relaxing even further when assured he was. Now to just get out of here. 

  
It was pretty late at night, so the building was relatively quiet- only a few soldiers on guard. So, Just like he had snuck in, Tom was able to sneak out. Edd was a big give away though- Tom’s disguise had helped him in, but if he is seen with Edd, it’d be over. So, it took a bit more sneaking than before, hiding around corners and doorways to not be seen. 

  
Once finally out though, they were home free. Tom carried Edd along, not pleased with just how light Edd was now. He tried to ignore it though, walking his way home with him, barely getting back home when Edd began to wake up. Thankfully, a person is generally disoriented after being knocked out with chloroform, so Edd didn’t have much struggled just yet.  
  
Tom got them back to their apartments, and Tom quickly made his way to Edd’s bedroom, laying him down and stepping back. “Edd…”  
  
Edd groaned, the room spinning a little as he struggled to get his bearings, cracking his eyes open once he was set down, glancing around the room, but refusing to sit up just yet. “W...Wh….”  
  
“You’re home now, Edd.” Tom spoke up quietly, keeping his distance for now, not wanting to startle him like he had back in the base. “I got you home..” Tom continued, almost as if trying to assure himself he wasn’t dreaming. He saved him. He was safe. He was _home_.  
  
“W..Where’s--- Where’s T-To...Tord…?”   
  
“You don’t have to stay with him anymore, Edd.” Tom sighed, pity filling his expression. Tord really.. Did a number on him. God… What the hell did he do to him?? Edd didn’t recognize him, and he only kept asking about Tord. Did Tord fucking… brainwash him??? What the fuck?  
  
Edd blinked a few times, finally pushing himself up a little, glancing around and letting out a small whimper under his breath, still feeling scared. “Where.. Am I? Where’s--”  
  
“Edd.” Tom sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead. He frowned, glancing off to a random part of the room, trying to just understand everything that’s happened. What he’s seen. He was honestly.. Scared. Tord had no problem kidnapping Edd- AND brainwashing him to his liking. He had a fucking army base, for god's sake! What the hell….  
  
“Look just… get some rest, okay? I- I’ll come back later..” Tom stepped back, deciding for now he’d probably give Edd some space. He was scared, and he didn’t want to just scare him more. He also felt a need to talk to Matt, and let him know that Edd was safe. 

  
Edd didn’t seem to argue, nor even try to get up, and that only made Tom feel more uneasy. He stepped back until getting back to the door, exiting the room and shutting the door behind him. He frowned, turning and heading towards the front door. He was safe but.. It didn’t feel like he actually had Edd back. He seemed… so out of it. That wasn’t.. Edd.  
  
Tom took a deep breath, knocking at Matt’s door once out of Edd’s apartment. It took a whole minute before the door open, a half-asleep Matt showing on the other side.   
  
“Tom..? It’s late.. What’s up?”  
  
“I.. found Edd.”   
  
“..W-What? Wait- Really?? Where is he???” Matt woke up seemingly fast now after hearing that news, happy to hear his friend was safe, hopefully. “Is he okay??”  
  
Tom gave a nod, running a hand through his hair, motioning towards Edd’s apartment. “He’s in his room. I- He was.. Uh, with Tord. Tord kidnapped him, Matt.”  
  
Matt was silent for a moment, trying to comprehend the information he was given, furrowing his brows a little. “...T-Tord?”  
  
Tom nodded again, meeting Matt’s eyes. “I laid him down and he is resting right now, I’m going to talk to him in the morning. I’m going to stay in Edd’s apartment for now. No doubt Tord will find out he is gone, and considering he kidnapped him once, I’m sure he won’t hesitate to try again.”  
  
“Alright..” Matt let out a heavy breath, running a hand over his face. “I can’t believe this…”  
  
“Me either, Matt. But- anyway, just wanted you to know he is safe. Get some rest too, okay? I’m gonna head off to sleep for tonight. I’m exhausted.”  
  
Matt seemed worried, but tried to just relax, knowing that Edd was safe at least. “Yeah.. I’ll do that. Goodnight, Tom.”  
  
“Night, Matt.” Tom waved him off, stepping away to let Matt shut the door. Tom sucked in a big breath, sighing heavily right after. He walked back to Edd’s place, stepping inside and shutting the door, making triple sure to lock it behind him. He couldn’t let this happen again. Nothing this bad could ever be allowed to happen again. If Tord ever decided to show his face again, Tom wouldn’t hesitate to kill him this time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yayyyyy go tom., get ready for some more SHIT guys bc the aftermath is just as : ) fun


	9. An Angry Night

“-and I believe this is a very good way we could recruit more soldiers into our--”  
  
“Sir?” A voice piped up from the doorway of the room the current meeting was being held in, causing Tord to pause his speech to look over, frowning at him.  
  
“What’s so important you need to interrupt this status meeting?” Tord grumbled, rubbing some of his fingers absent-mindedly on the robotic arm on his right side, but kept his eyes on the man in question.  
  
The soldier cleared his throat a little, seemingly nervous as he looked over the room of people, thinking on how to word his bad news. He began growing tense as he looked back to Tord again, clearing his throat one more time. “Uh- I came to give you some urgent news, Sir. Ed-- uh--., Subject C-31 is.. Missing, Sir.” 

  
Tord widened his eyes immediately, gripping onto his arm now, tensing up. “W-.. ahm-” He coughed a little, giving a small chuckle. “I’ll be right back everyone. _Stay put._ ” He grit his teeth, waving his hand a little. “Pat, Paul. Come with me. _Now_.” 

  
The two men motioned to nodded and quickly followed after him out of the room, almost having trouble keeping up with him, Paul being the first to speak up.  
  
“C-31? Isn’t that-”  
  
“ _Yes._ ” Tord growled, immediately making his way back to the room he’d visited so many times before, opening the door to make sure for himself, stepping inside and glancing around the small room, desperate for any sight of the missing person. “How in the.. God fucking _damn it!!_ ” Tord growled, clenching his hands tight into fists as he flipped himself around, walking out of the room and making a beeline for the surveillance room.  
  
Slamming his hands down on the table in front of it, He messed with the buttons to rewind back the cameras of that room specifically until something new showed up. Until he found out what the _hell_ happened. 

  
Paul and Pat stayed quiet, awkwardly watching their friend, and leader, have such an influx of emotions. They kept themselve quiet, deciding it’d be smarter to just shut up for now, anything they could say likely to just spill Tord into a bigger vat of anger. 

  
“What--” Tord stopped the clip when he finally got the time it had happened. “That _bastard!_ Of course he’s the one who fucking took him. _How did he even fucking get in!?_ ” He growled, slamming his fists down onto the panel, easily smashing it, sparks flying up as he backed away. 

  
“Tord--! calm down.” Pat spoke up, frowning at Tord’s sudden behavior. He opened his mouth to continue, but quickly shut it as Tord began to speak again.  
  
“We are getting him back. I don’t care what it _fucking_ takes. Kill them. Kill Tom. Kill Matt for all I care. Kill that _entire damn apartment complex!_ ” Tord grit his teeth, ignoring the intense pain shooting through his right shoulder as the robotic arm shorted out from the smash against the control panel. 

  
Paul and Pat exchanged concerned looks for a second, Paul being the next to speak. “Tord- Listen, We know you’re extremely upset about this. But, as your friends, we really think you should calm down. You- You don’t _need_ Edd. You hardly focus on your job when he is here-”

  
“ _Paul._ ” Tord bluntly replied, slowly turning himself back around, giving them a unsettling smile. “I don’t get a _damn_ if you two are my friends. I’m still your _leader_. And you will _listen_ to me, understand?”  
  
Paul gulped, nodding and averted eye contact from him, standing up straight, Pat doing the same. 

  
“Yes, Sir.” They answered in unison.  
  
“Good. We gotta plan this time. We can’t just waltz in and grab him like before. Come with me, _Now."_

  
\-     -     -  
  
It was becoming clear to Tom just how much damage Tord had managed to put on Edd. It’d been about a week since he had got Edd back, and it had been relatively quiet, and Edd seemed to never leave his room. He however made a fuss every time Tom or Matt checked in on him and it ‘wasn’t Tord’. 

Tom peeked into Edd’s room, as he had a few times already that day alone, mostly checking this time to see if he ate the food he had given him. He was relieved to see he had, but stepped into the room. “Hey Edd, how are you? You feel alright?”

  
Edd stared at him a little, not as fearful of him now that he’d adjusted to his presence, but still felt disappointed every time him or Matt showed up behind that door. “Mhm.”  
  
Sighing a little at the short response, Tom sat himself down on the end of the bed, but kept his distance, a little unsure if Edd was still wary of him. “You need to snap out of-- this. Edd.. you’re not with Tord anymore. You don’t have to be anymore-- You’re home now.” He reminded, though frowned when he only got a blank stare from Edd in return.  
  
Edd listened to his words, having heard similar phrases to that throughout the past week. But, he found his attention turning from Tom and to something else completely. The door. Tom left it open- and after repeatedly being told Tord wasn’t here, and realizing so, Edd locked his eyes on it. 

  
Even as Tom spoke, Edd ignored everything he said, glancing at him quickly only to suddenly push himself up and head for the door, Tom’s speech immediately shutting up.

  
Tom blinked, watching Edd walk out the room, unsure if that was a good or bad sign. He frowned, pushing himself up and following after him. “Edd?” He questioned, only to widen his eyes when he saw him heading for the front door. He quickly grabbed at his arm, pulling him back a little. “Edd! What are you doing???”

  
Edd stopped in his tracks when his arm had been grabbed, eyes still locked on the front door he had tried to get to. “Back to Tord.”  
  
His chest felt like it had tightened a little, and Tom pulled him back a bit more, shaking his head. “ _Edd._ You can’t go back to him- He’s an awful, awful person. You shouldn’t be around people like that. Come on, let’s go back to your room, huh? You like it in there, righ-?!” Tom grunted in surprise as Edd suddenly tugged out of his grip, making for the door _much_ faster than he had before. 

  
Tom was stunned for only a second before catching himself and rushing forward as well, grabbing Edd just as he pulled the door open, pulling him back with both his arms wrapped around his waist. “Edd-!” 

  
Edd grit his teeth when Tom only grabbed onto him again, groaning in annoyance, squirming in his hold. “Let go of me!!” 

  
Tom tried to tug him back into the apartment, away from the door, but grunted out again when Edd suddenly tugged even _harder_ , causing them to just topple onto the ground. Tom groaned a bit in pain as Edd began to squirm and kick, kicking him a few times. “--Edd!! Knock it off!!” 

  
Edd only continued to squirm in his grasp, trying to reach for the door to pull himself up somehow. “Let me go!!!!!” Edd screamed louder, purposely kicking at him to try and get him to let go.  
  
Tom winced at the hard kicks, but did his best to ignore him, keeping his hold tight on Edd as he lifted him up from the floor, dragging him back towards his room. “You aren’t going anywhere right now, Edd!” He huffed, having to use every ounce of his energy to drag Edd along.  
  
Edd’s screams and protests continued until they were back in the room and the door shut, suddenly just. Stopping. Tom blinked at this, gulping and almost panting a little from the struggle, backing off of him. “... Edd?” 

  
The brunette didn’t respond, only glancing around the room a little with a small tiny noise of defeat. He pushed himself up slowly, wobbling back over to the bed to lay back down on it, curling up quietly.  
  
Gulping down a lump in his throat, Tom frowned, heart aching a little at the current condition of his friend. He sighed a little, stepping back to the door and grabbing the knob. “I- God, I’m sorry, Edd. You can’t go back to him. You just-” He paused, sighing again and turning the knob. 

  
“I’ll come bring you some food in a bit, okay?” He offered quietly, though expected no response, and left the room right afterwards. He shut the door behind him and leaned himself up against it, running a hand through his hair as tears came to his eyes, mostly out of frustration. Anger.   
  
Tord was such an.. Awful person. How could he just- do this to someone. Someone he _claimed_ to love? He wanted his friend back! Not-- _this_.   
  
Tom groaned, running a hand over his face as he used the other to push himself off the door, walking into the kitchen to grab something for Edd like he had promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Sorry this took so long ;;v;; this chapter was a real doozy for me so I had to keep stopping and take breaks. 
> 
> also once again sorry for such a short chapter ;v; I wanted to add more and make it longer but you guys have been waiting long enough I decided to post it as is! I'll try to update again as soon as I can ;


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